by Patricia Fry
It wasn’t long before Savannah pulled her SUV into Colbi’s driveway. She grabbed her flashlight out from under the seat and headed quickly to the front door. Before she had a chance to knock, she saw Colbi peer out through the curtain, then she heard the door lock unlatch.
“Come in, quick,” Colbi said, pulling Savannah inside and slamming the door.
“Hi, Dolly,” Savannah said. “Gosh, she is beside herself, isn’t she? She looks nervous.” She chuckled. “Like one of Lily’s wind-up toys. Are they still interested in something out that same window?” She looked around. “Where’s Rags?”
“At the window. She sits there for a while, then he does, then they both do. Hear that? Rags is carrying on again.”
Savannah walked to where Rags paced along the windowsill in the dining room. “What’s wrong, boy?” she asked, peering out into the darkness. “What do you see? I sure don’t see anything.” She took a long breath and looked at Colbi. “Well, girlfriend, are you ready to see what’s out there?”
Colbi pulled her hands up to her chest. “What if it’s a bad guy?”
“Want to call the police?”
Colbi thought about it. “Well, I’d feel pretty stupid if it’s a wild animal or one of the feral cats teasing Dolly and Rags.”
“So you didn’t see anything out there either, huh?”
“No, that’s what’s weird. Whatever it is seems invisible to me—either it’s farther out in the yard than I can see in the dark, or it’s in the blind spot under the window.”
“Or it’s a ghost,” Savannah said, grinning impishly.
“Don’t even think that,” Colbi snapped. She tilted her head and muttered, “Hmmm, that might actually be the lesser of the evils.”
“Well, get your jacket,” Savannah instructed. “I have a flashlight. Let’s go take a look.”
Colbi slipped into her jacket then grabbed a flashlight of her own and headed out through the front door with Savannah following behind. They walked slowly around to the west side of the house, noticing nothing out of the ordinary. As Savannah shined her light toward a row of shrubs and in between a couple of out-sheds, she heard Colbi call out to her.
“Savannah!” she hissed, barely able to breathe. “Over here. Hurry!”
Savannah aimed her flashlight in Colbi’s direction. “What? What is it?”
Her voice sounding pinched, Colbi said, “Oh, my gosh! I think it’s a body.”
“What kind of body?” Suddenly gripped with fear, she blurted, “Please tell me it’s a squirrel or a rat.”
“No. Savannah, it’s a person. Get over here,” she spat, impatiently. “Bring your flashlight. Mine quit working, darn it.”
Savannah hesitated. “I don’t really think I want to see this, do I?”
“Probably not.” Colbi closed her eyes and shivered. “Oh, Savannah, what is going on? This just can’t be happening.”
“Maybe it’s not happening. Maybe you’re just imagining things.” Savannah stepped closer to Colbi and grabbed her arm. “I don’t see anything. Let’s go.”
“Stop it!” Colbi whispered. “There is a body.” She pointed her finger. “Now look. It’s right there…up against the house.” Colbi clutched her jacket more tightly around herself and turned away. “Oh my God, Savannah. How did it get there? Where did it come from?” she asked, glancing back at the limp form in the glow from Savannah’s flashlight. She gasped. “Is that blood? Savannah, I think that guy’s been murdered.”
Savannah studied the second-story window. “Maybe he jumped from up there. Could he have broken into your house and tried to escape through that window?” Upon closer examination, she reasoned, “I guess not. It doesn’t look like it’s open and it’s certainly not broken.” She peered into the darkness. “Maybe he walked up from the highway, drunk, and passed out.” She spoke more quietly. “Could be that he’s just sleeping it off.”
Colbi shook her head slowly. “I don’t think so. He looks dead to me. That’s not a sleeping position, it’s a…a…dead position, if I’ve ever seen one.”
“And how many have you seen?” Savannah challenged.
“Not many. And I wish I wasn’t seeing this one.” Colbi turned to her friend, her hands over her mouth. “What should we do?”
Savannah exhaled slowly. “Well, we’d better call someone.” Easing her cell phone from her pocket, she tapped in a number. The answer came promptly.
“9-1-1. What is your emergency?”
“Hello, this is Savannah Ivey. I’m at the Stanton place out on the highway west of town and we’ve found what appears to be a…a…body…a dead one,” she said, her voice quivering.
“Dead, you say? Is it inside or outside the house?”
“Outside.”
“Is the victim an occupant of the home? Someone you know?”
“No.”
“Are you sure he’s dead?”
“Pretty sure. …looks like someone hit him over the head or stabbed him or something. There’s some blood.”
“How did you discover the body, ma’am?”
Savannah glanced at Colbi, then looked at the dining room window and noticed the two cats peering out at her. “As I understand it, the resident cats alerted the homeowner that something was wrong. Ms. Stanton called me, and when we started looking around, we found it.”
“Okay, ma’am. Someone’s on the way.”
Once she ended the call, Savannah turned to Colbi. “Do you know who it is?”
“No!” she practically shouted.
“Are you sure? Take a closer look, will you? The cops will want to know.”
Colbi cringed, then stepped slowly toward the body. “Ugh, looks like he was bonked on the head.” Suddenly, she froze. “Hey! I think that’s…isn’t that…? Oh no!” she screeched. “Look Savannah—look at who that is!”
“Who?” she asked, frowning. “I don’t want to look. Come on, don’t make me look.”
“You made me look.”
“Yeah, but it’s your house.”
“Just look. You’re not going to believe it.” When Colbi heard Savannah gasp, she grabbed her arm. “What does this mean? Oh my gosh, we’re going to be blamed for this just as sure as you and I are standing here. I know it. Who wanted him to vanish into thin air more than we did? No one. And now he’s dead—probably murdered—at my house. This is awful—just blasted awful!”
“Colbi,” Savannah said, grabbing her arm and leading her up the porch steps, “let’s go back inside and wait.”
“Why?” Colbi asked as she tried to keep up with Savannah. “He’s dead. He can’t bother us now.”
“Yeah, but if that guy’s been attacked, his attacker could still be here,” Savannah reasoned. As she opened the front door and motioned for her friend to enter, Colbi suddenly grasped Savannah’s jacket sleeve.
“What’s that?” she asked, wide eyed.
“Um, your teakettle whistle?” Savannah suggested.
Colbi relaxed a bit. “Oh yes, I guess so.” After closing and bolting the door, she asked, rather nonchalantly, “Want a cup of tea?”
“Sure. Oh, wait,” she said, looking at her phone screen. “That’s Michael calling.” Into the phone, she said, “Hi, hon. Why aren’t you sleeping?”
“Just worried about you. What did Colbi need? Is she okay?”
“Yeah…well, not really. Michael, we’re waiting for the sheriff. We…uh…we found a body outside her house.”
“Good Lord, Savannah.”
“We think it’s Damon’s father.”
“Where’s Damon? Is he there with you?”
“No, he’s across town on assignment and Harrison is back at school. Colbi was here by herself. Oh, I hear someone in the driveway; must be the sheriff.”
“Savannah, stay on the line until you’re sure, will you?”
“Oh, okay.” She looked out the window. “Yes, it’s Deputy Jim and…I think Deputy Ben. I’m going to hang up now. I should be home soon.”
As she and Colbi stepped out onto the porch, Savannah noticed another car approaching. “Looks like the detective heard the news,” Savannah quipped. “Hi, Craig,” she called. “Bad news sure gets around fast, doesn’t it?”
He slipped out of the car and strolled toward the women. “Sure does,” he said under his breath.
“Hey, we thought you were out of town,” Colbi said, hugging the detective.
“Yeah, found what I needed earlier than I expected. Got home in time for dinner.” He looked at the two women. “So what do you know?” When they appeared confused, Craig asked, “What happened here tonight?”
Savannah noticed that the two deputies were also waiting for their answer, and she looked to Colbi for an explanation.
“Well, like I told Savannah, Dolly and Rags were all upset and nervous about something they saw out the window or maybe something they heard. I don’t know for sure.”
“Rags?” Deputy Ben said. “Isn’t that the cat?”
Savannah nodded. “Colbi got scared and called me. We went out to look around…”
“…and we found a body.” Colbi grabbed Craig’s arm. “I think it’s Damon’s father.”
“Well, I can’t say I’m sad to see that knucklehead go.” He took a deep breath. “Only finding him here doesn’t make me happy. Where is this body?” he asked.
Colbi pointed and the deputies quickly walked around to the west side of the house. “Over here, Detective,” Ben said, while Jim placed a call to the coroner.
“Tell me it’s natural causes or suicide—come on, make my day, will ya?” Craig quipped.
Ben shook his head. “Wish I could. Looks like whoever did this hated the man with a passion.” He looked at Craig. “Do you know who it is?”
Craig moved closer and stared into the dead man’s face, which was illuminated by Craig’s flashlight. “Yeah, ’fraid so. He used to be married to my wife.”
Not sure how to take that bit of information, Ben simply stared in Craig’s direction.“Looks to me like the body was dumped here, don’t you think so?” Craig asked. “See those drag marks, and the crumpled manner in which the body’s positioned?”
Ben walked to the police car and returned with a camera. “I know the coroner will get pictures, but I want some for our files, too, in case this is a homicide.”
“In case?” Craig asked. “You don’t think it is?”
“You never know until you complete an investigation. You’re aware of that, Sledge.”
Craig nodded, then looked around the area, using the beam of his flashlight.
“Savannah thought he jumped or fell from the second-story window,” Colbi said.
Savannah nodded. “Or the roof.”
“What would he be doing up there?” Craig asked.
“Heck if I know—I was just trying to make sense of it.”
“Where’s Damon?” Craig asked.
“On assignment. He thought he’d be home late, so he wasn’t planning to come over here tonight. Why?”
Craig ran his hand through his hair. “Well, I think he’s going to be first on the list of suspects, don’t you? Iris being second, and then me.” He looked at Colbi. “You might be on that list, too, young lady, since you were with Colbi when she found it.” He glared into Savannah’s eyes for a moment. “How long have you been here?”
“Oh, maybe half an hour, I guess.”
He looked from one to the other of the women and shook his head. “Doesn’t look good, ladies.”
“What do you mean?” Savannah asked, furrowing her brow.
“I don’t want to alarm you, but some may theorize that Colbi saw Jackson come onto her property and called you to come over here and help her attack him.”
“Us?” Savannah said, laughing. When she saw the look on Craig’s face, she immediately became solemn, asking, “You’re kidding, right?”
Chapter 6
“Oh, Michael, I was so scared,” Savannah told him the next morning. “I mean, how suspicious does it look? It’s the middle of the night and Colbi and I find this guy who’s threatened her fiancé’s family and he’s dead outside her house.”
He took her hand. “I’m sure you two aren’t serious suspects.” He let out a sigh. “But Damon and Iris could be and maybe even Craig.”
“Yes, that’s what Craig said. I guess everyone will be questioned unless they find a clue as to what actually happened. You know, I need to call Iris. She must be terribly upset.”
“Why don’t you eat your breakfast, first, hon? Here, let me get you a glass of juice—eat your eggs.”
Savannah looked at the plate of scrambled eggs and sausage she’d prepared. “Juice sounds good.”
“Eat,” he instructed when he placed the glass in front of her. He looked around. “Did you bring Rags home last night?”
She nodded. “Yes. He’s around here someplace. Probably sleeping in. He had a long night, too.”
“Oh, there he is, in Buffy’s bed,” Michael noted. “Yeah, he looks exhausted.”
“You know the cats alerted Colbi to the body. They were going crazy at the window when I got there.”
He gazed at Rags and shook his head. “Well, I’m off. It should be a busy day at the clinic this morning. We’re neutering a litter of kittens and one of them may need major surgery if that testicle hasn’t dropped yet.” He winced. “Poor kitty will probably have to wear a cone for a while. It’s hard on a young one who’s so low to the ground and energetic. Have you ever watched a kitten try to deal with one of those things?” When she didn’t respond, he said, “Savannah.”
“Huh? Oh, good bye, Michael; have a good day at work.”
He leaned toward her and looked into her eyes. “I will, if you’ll snap out of it. Relax, will you? Everything’s going to be okay.”
“How can you say that, Michael?” she asked defiantly. “Some of our friends may be in awful trouble. I’m worried and I’m frightened for them. Colbi, especially, doesn’t need any more stress in her life.”
Wrapping his arms around her, he murmured, “I know. I’m concerned too. But let’s try not to let it interfere with what we have to do. How can we be a help to our friends if we allow this to drag us down? Now eat some breakfast and keep a stiff upper lip, will you?”
She grinned. “At the same time? That could be impossible.” Sitting up straighter, she said, “Okay Michael, you’re right of course. I’ll pull it together. Now, I’m going to call Iris.”
When Michael started to say something, she grinned up at him. “…after I eat.”
“Good girl,” he said, kissing her. “’Bye, hon.” He leaned over Lily as she sat in the highchair and kissed her on top of the head. “’Bye little hon. Love you.”
“’Bye, Da-da. ’Bye-bye,” Lily chirped, waving one pudgy hand.
“Hi Iris,” Savannah said into her cell phone several minutes later. “How’re you doing?”
“Well, good in some respects, awful in others, as you can imagine.”
“You mean, you’re glad the creep’s out of the way, but you’re concerned about being a suspect?”
“You’re absolutely right.”
“Have they talked to you yet?”
“Craig’s taking me down for the interrogation in an hour or so.”
“Interrogation?”
“Yeah, that’s what it seems like. And Damon… Oh my gosh, Savannah, Damon’s going to be a suspect pure and simple. I’m so frightened for him.”
“But he was on assignment last night. He has an alibi, doesn’t he?”
“Um, from what I understand, it was more of a stakeout. His boss sent him to watch a house to see if the resident went out anywhere—it’s one of those stories about a neighborhood peeping Tom. The problem is, no one knew Damon was there, obviously. He was hiding out, right? So no one can corroborate his alibi. Like Craig said, for all
they know, he left his post, found the snake, and…you know… or he went to Colbi’s and found him sneaking around outside the house and....”
“Oh my gosh, Iris, that does put him in a precarious spot, doesn’t it?” She paused, then said, “You know, Michael and I saw Damon last night.”
“You did? At the stakeout place?”
“No. Um…he was…well, he was with Eugene Jackson.”
Savannah heard Iris gasp. “Where, Savannah? What were they doing?”
“Outside the newspaper office. We were going to the Italian restaurant up the street. They were arguing. Gads, I sure hope I don’t have to tell the authorities about it.”
“Well, what happened?” Iris asked.
“Nothing—words were exchanged and they went their separate ways.” Savannah added, “Oh, and the tall not-the-father was there, too.”
“What? Oh, you mean that dark-haired guy you saw with Damon at the newspaper office? Was he with Eugene?” she asked. She then said scornfully, “So they are working together, huh?”
“No, they didn’t seem to be together. Mr. Jackson and the floozy were together, and I noticed the other guy drive away after they left.” She chuckled. “He drives one of those vintage cars—you know, from your era. It was long, sleek, and turquoise.”
“Interesting. I’d better give Craig that information. I’m sure he’ll want to know.” Before Savannah could respond, Iris said, “Hey, I called Eugene’s mother this morning to tell her about—you know—what happened. I thought it was the right thing to do. Boy, was I wrong.”
“Why?” Savannah asked.
“Well, Eugene’s sister answered the phone. She wanted to know how I knew about this. I told her he came here and has been terrorizing us, trying to extort money from us in a big scam. She didn’t believe me. She said her brother has been a model citizen since he was last released from prison five years ago and that if he claimed I owed him money, I probably did. Savannah, she’s blaming me for his death. She said if I didn’t do it, someone from my family did, and she hopes we all burn in hell.” Iris began to cry.
“Oh Iris, I’m so sorry. That sure adds insult to injury, doesn’t it? I just don’t know what to say.” She paused, then asked, “What about his mother? You said you had a pretty good relationship with her at one time. Is she still living?”
